London Bridge ringleader Khuram Butt ‘was not religious until a relative of his wife influenced him after his wedding in 2013’

TERROR ringleader Khuram Butt was radicalised by a relative, his uncle  claims.

Butt, 27, born in Pakistan but raised in Britain, was not religious until he got married in 2013, according to Nasir Dar.

He said Butt then grew apart from his family after being influenced by a Pakistani relative of wife Zahrah Rehman, 24.

Mr Dar said: “I attended his marriage in 2013. Later I observed after the marriage that he started offering prayers and grew his beard. He also started wearing Shalwar Qameez (a traditional Pakistani dress).”

Butt stayed in touch with relatives in Pakistan including Mr Dar, the brother of his mother Fahmida and last visited the country four years ago.

He married Zahrah Rehman in Chigwell, Essex in 2013 in front of 400 friends and family including his Uncle.

Devastated Mr Dar told how the murderer grew apart from his family but was influenced by a relative of Zahrah, 24.

It raises the possibility Butt – filmed in a Channel 4 documentary with extremists including Abu Haleema and Mohammed Shamsuddin – was in touch with a wide network of radicals in the UK.

Mr Dar, from the Punjab region of Pakistan, said: “Whenever I visited the UK, I found him a guy who is in accordance with British society.

“He used to live separately from his parents but he was normal.

“Initially he was not religious-minded, he was a normal Muslim but after his marriage in 2013 he turned religious.

“He had a friend who was religious and had a beard.

“He changed and started praying five times a day and grew a beard.

“I met this friend of Khuram, he was from Pakistan but his mother was English and he was a bearded guy who had never cut the beard he grew and offered prayers five times a day.”

By May 2013, Butt was showing worrying signs of extremism – and clashed with Muslims angry at the killing of fusilier Lee Rigby in Woolwich, south London.

In January 2016 Butt – who went to Rokeby School in Stratford, east London and worked as an office manager at KFC in nearby East Ham – appeared in programme The Jihadis Next Door.

He was one of a group of eight men seen on the show being led to pray in London’s Regents Park by hate preacher Mohammed Shamsuddin in front of an Islamic State-style flag in July 2015.

Butt also watched YouTube videos by hate preachers including American Ahmad Musa Jibril, who has influenced militants to join Islamic State.

And he was reported to police after offering children sweets in an east London park to convert to Islam.

His Uncle’s revelations show Butt, who was monitored by M15 and the security services, was mixing with a wide network of militants.

Mr Dar added: “I have deep sorrow for what happened in London.

“The loss of innocent lives is so saddening.”

Butt – seen lying in an Arsenal shirt with a fake suicide belt after being shot dead by police – was a father of two including a newborn baby when he launched the horrific attack.

He is thought to have driven the hired van which contained accomplices Rachid Redouane, 30 and Youssef Zaghba, 22.